Sending your child off to summer camp can be a terrifying experience for parents, especially if your son or daughter has a tendency to get homesick. While more than 95% of all kids who attend summer camp feel some degree of homesickness, only one in fourteen will be so distressed by it that they end up returning home early. The good news is there are many strategies parents can use to minimize homesickness and help kids get the most out of their summer camp experience.
• One way of doing this is by sending them off to camp with their own personalized camp stationery. By letting your children know how much you will look forward to receiving their letters, they will still feel connected to their home and family.
• Involving your child in the decision-making about summer camp is another way for them to “take ownership” of their time away from home. The more a child wants to go to camp, the more likely they are to make the best of it and have fun.
• Buying camp supplies and special gear for their camp activities will help your child visualize their camp experience too. Why not ask them to help you apply their camp clothing labels to all their clothing, personal items and gear?
• Some children enjoy keeping a diary or journal while at camp. A camp diary can help kids get through short periods of homesickness by giving them a place to record their feelings.
• If you know of other children who have had positive experiences with summer camp, let your child spend some time with them. Sometimes a kid-to-kid chat will answer all of their concerns.
Whatever you do, never promise your child you will come and get them if they feel homesick. Not only will this undermine their burgeoning independence, it may send a negative message about camp in general, and their ability to cope without you.
Ultimately, most parents find that any homesickness disappears once their child gets acclimated to camp, and kids end up wishing they could stay a little longer.
If you’re planning to send your children to overnight camp this summer, then it helps to start planning ahead. Choosing the right camp is the first step. Is your child athletic? Are they more of a computer nerd? Are they interested in learning something new? Today there is a summer camp for every possible interest.
Depending on which camp you choose, a list of supplies will be sent with your initial paperwork, and most will recommend the type of clothing, sporting equipment and special “extras” your child might need.
No matter how much you think you are prepared with all the right supplies, clothing, and gear; there is always a last-minute rush to get everything together before the big send-off.
If you’ve never sent your child to camp before, you may not realize the importance of attaching iron on clothing labels to every piece of clothing. This is particularly important when their clothing will be laundered at camp, but even if they are only there for a week, several items are bound to end up in the Lost and Found. Using iron on clothes name labels will prevent these items from going home with someone else.
Sturdier camp clothing labels can also be used to label sporting gear, bicycle helmets, towels, shoes, books and sleeping bags. Just remember, if something is important to you it should be labeled.
Camping is a great experience for kids, and it is one that shouldn’t be missed. One way to make it even more memorable for your children is with camp diaries. These special journals are a great way for your children to capture their most important memories, collect autographs, and fill with photographs when they get home.
Gone are the simpler times when children could run and play without worrying about all the dangers in the world around them. Not anymore. Today’s parents need to be much more cautious.
Just the thought of a child getting lost in a public place is enough to make most parents take every precaution to prevent it. But what happens when a small child is found? If that child is too young to talk, or is afraid of strange adults, it may be very difficult for them to find their way back to familiar faces.
Unlike adults, small children cannot always provide the necessary identifying information to be returned safely to their parents. Since they carry no identification, it can be next to impossible for officers to find a child’s parents. This is why it is more important than ever to make sure your child wears some form of identification on his or her clothing.
With iron-on clothing labels, a child’s parents can be notified immediately that their child has been found. Clothing name labels can also include important medical information and emergency contact numbers.
Even many adults are starting to use clothing name labels in their clothing, particularly if they regularly jog, hike or walk outdoors. Any time you plan to be outdoors or in public without identifying information, it makes sense to wear some form of identification on your clothing. If applied correctly, garment labels will last for the life of the clothing.
Sending your daughter off to overnight camp for the summer can be a difficult decision, but if you went to summer camp yourself as a child, you won’t want her to miss out on this experience. How do you know if she’s ready to be away from home this long?
Before you start packing her bags, and putting camp clothing labels on all of her summer clothes, consider these guideposts for determining if she’s ready.
If you daughter is at least seven years old, she may be ready for overnight camp if: read more…
When parents send their children to summer camp, it requires them to let go a little and remember that their child will be creating a lifetime of memories. It is a time when parents get some time together as a couple, and their children get to go experience a little independence from Mom and Dad.
If you want to help your child make memories that will last a lifetime, why not send them to camp with a camp diary or camp journal? Not only will it be a great way for them to wind down from their activities at the end of the day, it will be also become one of their prized possessions as they grow up. Kids can get autographs from fellow campers, write about their daily adventures, and even fill up their camp journal with photos when they return home.
Whether your child is going to a special soccer camp, writing camp, tennis camp or just an all-around overnight camp, they will appreciate having a way to express themselves in writing over the summer. If your child tends to get homesick, it might be a good idea to write a sweet note of encouragement to them on the inside of their camp diary and let them discover it when they get to camp.
These are such a novel idea that I wish I had one when I was a kid. It would be so nice to revisit those memories of campfires and polar bear swims, cabin nights and food fights as an adult. A camp journal or camp diary makes an excellent gift for your child on the last day of school, or you can buy several of them and give them to nieces and nephews as well.
When the last marking period starts to wind down, it’s time for many working parents to start thinking about summer camp. Choosing a camp that is appealing to your child’s needs and interests is always a challenge, but even more importantly, parents want to make that camp experience rewarding and enjoyable for their child. One way to cut down on the stress of preparing a child for summer camp is to make sure they have everything they need to make camp memorable.
Before sending your child to a day camp or overnight camp, be sure to have enough durable summer clothing and swimsuits. Any parent who has seen the condition of clothing at the end of the camp season will tell you how important it is to use iron on clothing name labels on all t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits and towels. This will ensure your child isn’t missing an important piece of clothing, and everything that is brought to camp is returned at the end of the summer.
Personalized nametapes are usually the best choice, as they are durable enough to withstand camp laundry and they stay in place, even if your child is involved in numerous activities and sports. Iron on clothing labels can be used throughout the school year too, on coats, jackets, sporting equipment and camping gear.
Once your child is equipped with everything they need to make summer camp enjoyable, you can spend time preparing them mentally for the wonderful experiences they will have. Camp is an opportunity for your child to explore the world around them and develop new social skills as well as a stronger sense of themselves. So “let go” and let them enjoy the carefree days of summer. They will come back refreshed and full of lifelong memories!
All about Kid’s Pillows
Childhood is most well known for it’s fun and frolic and the indulgence of our parents. Kids have it all. Different rooms, themes, and outrageous colors that would not be allowed in any regular room. So it goes with kid’s pillows as well. Pillows are an integral part of a young child’s room – mainly because they can stand much more interaction in terms of throwing and being squashed than any other accessory. Kids pillows are therefore at the forefront of any parent’s thoughts when he or she is designing a room from their child.
It’s difficult to know where to start when it comes to kids pillows because there are so many options to choose from. One guiding principle of course, is that it must suit your child’s personality. Football shaped pillows, cell phone shaped pillows, those which have decorations on them and all the other various types of shapes and sizes of pillows must all contribute and enhance your child’s personality in some way or the other.
You can also display ingenuity with them and use them for unconventional purposes such as simply lying on the floor and watching TV – or to create better accents for the room. Depending on your purpose, you will choose the size, strength, shape, color and design of the pillows.
kids pillows
Throw Pillows
Kids pillows meant for decorations or “throw pillows” are also called cushions in other countries. They serve mostly as ornaments or to provide additional assistance for a piece of furniture or both. The main aspect of these pillows, is the cover which is mean to accentuate all the other covers of the room. In the case of a child’s room, these will be gay and reflective of which colors are most suited to him or her.
Pillow Covers
You can personalize your child’s pillow case with their name on it. This is specially useful when you’re sending them to a boarding school or a camp where they will need to keep track of what is theirs. Stuff can easily get lost in the laundry and with iron as well as sew on labels, you child will never misplace his or her pillow case. You can also order special pillowcases that allow your child to bring back memories from their trips with the signatures of all their friends on the pillow case! These will be special to your child – just another way of showing how much you care.
Evolution of Laundry Labels
Laundry labels have evolved in such a manner that complex instructions for the maintenance of clothes can be compacted into easily recognizable symbols. On a small label, many such symbols can be placed, easily allowing one who is familiar with such things to understand what sort of washing the piece of clothing can be subjected to.
At one time, the Canadian laundry labels were widely in use. However, they required the use of color with red and green meaning different things. Nowadays, many systems are in use and in this article, we look at the symbols used in the United States.
Explanation of two Symbols
Understanding Laundry Labels
Laundry labels always show the maximum allowed treatment. This requires an understanding of gradations of washing. For example, cold water washing is more gentle than hot water washing. And drying clothes on a clothesline is always more gentle than tumble drying. This means that any directions indicated on a label, don’t preclude a gentler treatment. You can always use water colder than what is mentioned.
Dots indicate Temperature
The more dots you see in a diagram, the hotter the water can be. If there are no dots, then the clothing can handle the hottest temperature available. As a general rule, 4 dots is 60 degrees C, 5 dots is 70 C and 6 dots is 95 C
Lines underneath indicate wash cycle instructions
When you see one or two lines underneath the bucket, it means that you should use a particular type of cyle in your washing machine. A single line means that you should use the permanent press cycle to keep the garment intact. A double line indicates the “gentle” cycle. If you see a hand in the bucket, it means you need to hand wash. As always, remember that you can always “underwash” if you want to, but not overwash.
Summary
These are the primary two symbols used in washing. They can be combined with each other (dots and lines) or they can be shown separately. Further symbols relate to bleaching instructions, drying, ironing and dry cleaning.
Bushcraft Camping Overview
In this article, we take a look at what Bushcraft is and how sending you son or daughter for a session of bushcraft camping can help them become tougher and more independent.
Bushcraft Skills
Bushcraft skills refer to the skills that are needed to survive in the wild. Though most of these have been lost to us due to the widespread emergence of modern civilization, there are still some cultures that keep these skills alive such as the Aborigines as well as tribes in some areas of Africa. The number of skills are wide ranging from rope making to creating shelters as well as starting a fire. For those away from civilization as we know it, these are everyday skills – ones on which a person’s life depends on.
Bushcraft Camping – Teaching young people
Bushcraft skills are taught to adults of all ages. Though there is almost always a minimum age of 18, there is no upper limit as long as you’re in good health. Some specialized courses allow youngsters between the ages of 14-17 to participate as well.
Depending on what sort of camping site you choose, you may decide to take the trip overseas to places like the UK where such camps are more common.
Overview of Skills taught
Fire Making
Learning how to make a fire is one of the most basic skills in the wild. Not only for warmth and safety, but also to cook. You will definitely need to cook in the wild since it’s too dangerous to eat anything raw.
Rope making
Rope making is one of the more sophisticated skills needed to survive in the wild. Depending on your environment and terrain, there will be many different types of rope as well as different ways of making them. You will learn to use naturally occuring materials like fibers and bark to create different varieties of rope.
Hunting
You will be taught how to hunt, kill and cook animals whom you can eat to survive when there is no other viable source of food. This sort of thing isn’t for the fainthearted!
Equipment you will need
Before you go camping, ensure that you read the camping instructions carefully and take what you need. Every word will be important. In addition, take some camp stationary with you to ensure that you write home to tell your loved ones you’re ok. Bushcraft camping isn’t exactly the least hassle free camping you can find, and this little gesture will be much appreciated.
Camp is supposed to be fun. And it’s difficult to have fun if you’re not at ease. Kids camping equipment is meant to ensure that your child enjoys his or her trip. This will produce an atmosphere that is conducive to the learning experience.
The correct gear will largely depend on what type of camping trip is being undertaken. Trips that focus on a lot of walking will have a different gear from one that is say – meant to teach your child about soccer. However, there are some basics that almost all outdoor camping trips require. This article is meant to provide such an overview so that you can get the background information that is necessary for further research.
Image Credit: BrockLi
Kids camping equipment - sleeping bags
The importance of comfort
Just because your child is supposed to be “roughing it out”, doesn’t mean that they should be uncomfortable. As mentioned earlier, proper comfort is extremely important to set the mood. When camping, there are several situations when you suddenly become acutely aware of the things that are taken from granted at home. Simple things like needing more space to change your clothes, as well as having a dry bedding bring your attention to the fact that you’re in the wild.
Kids Camping Equipment – The sleeping bag
It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of a good nights sleep, and and consequently, the importance of a good sleeping bag. If the weather is very cold, more sophisticated bags are needed to keep the young sleeper warm.
The common design called the “mummy bag” mimics the design of an Egyptian sarcophagus – tapered at the end and more accommodating to the shape of the human body. It’s specially designed for cold winter weather and they all have an enclosure around the head to retain warmth.
For warm weather, a rectangular bag is more appropriate as it will have more room for air circulation. Other aspects are how well the bag retains heat and prevents the cold from seeping in through the seams, as well as the ability of the bag to withstand moisture. This is a larger topic, and one that we can go into further detail in a later article.
Space Savers for stretching out
In order to ensure that your child can properly stretch out inside the tent, it’s important to ensure that there is a maximum amount of free space within the tent. Camping space savers make sure that all items are neatly arranged in a proper manner so as to allow for maximum sleeping space inside the tent. There are several different types of space savers available and you need to find one that is best suited to your child’s needs.
We hope you enjoy selecting a space saver as much as your child enjoys his or her trip!
